Window actuators, such as those for automobile window assemblies, are well-known. Today's window actuators typically utilize devices, known in the art as regulators, to both lower and lift glass window pane between a lower open position and an upper closed position. The window regulators typically use elongated spaced apart guide rails upon which a window pane rides. In practice, the window regulator is typically disposed within an automobile door, liftgate etc.
In many window regulator and door assemblies, the window pane travels along the guide rails in the path defined by vertical window frames and a horizontal upper header. The header and window frames aid in aligning and supporting the window pane within the door, when the window and door assembly is being built. In other types of window assemblies, such as lift gates or windows in automobiles having convertible roofs, known in the art as “headerless” assemblies, the window pane does not travel in the path defined by window frame or a header, because there is no frame or header around the periphery of the glass.
When the door is open and the window pane is in an up position, a person may push on the window pane to close the door or liftgate. Most prior art headerless assemblies, do not provide stiffness to the window pane. This causes the window pane to move or deflect laterally when a person pushes on the window pane. The excessive lateral deflection by the window pane does not provide the rigidity desired by most people.
Furthermore, today's convertible tops have been designed to resist water infiltration at the junction of the window in the roofline. This new design incorporates a roof edge, which extends beyond and depends below the top edge of the window in its uppermost closed position. This design keeps water from running between the seal on the roof and the top edge of the window. Thus, water never has a chance to seep between the seal by either adhesion or a poor seal. This design also presents a unique challenge. Upon opening a door, the window pane must automatically retract some distance below its uppermost closed position in order that it does not collide with the roofline of the automobile.
In the design of the cable drive regulator for frameless automotive moving windows, it is normal practice to provide glass adjustment in the inboard/outboard and fore and aft directions. Normally, this can be achieved by adjustment of the guide rails, and by the use of a glass clamp. Indeed, glass rotational adjustment can be made by either a wedge or a steel stamping prior to clamping the glass in place.